The title of new spring 2015 anime My Love Story!! couldn’t be more generic, for all that its two exclamation points attempt to differentiate it from the crowd. From its bland title, it could be just another generic entry in an oversaturated genre filled with the same old tireless, limp cliches. But I’m delighted to report that MY Love STORY!! is not. My Love STORY!! is an absolute must-watch for anyone who simply wants to enjoy the hell out of something cute and sweet and fun, and here’s why.

The three main characters are good people who are good to each other.

Part of the reason why I really appreciate Steven Universe is because of its positive and affirming attitude. By and large, characters endeavor to celebrate and support one another. It’s a type of positivity that is rare to see these days, where Grimdark Dystopian Realness seems the only storytelling choice critics will respect or audiences will respond to.

But this type of validation and positivity shines throughout My Love Story!!. The main character, Takeo, and his best friend, Suna, have been best friends since they were three years old. Takeo is generous and effusive, adored by his underclassmen and a complete open book. He's not shy about proclaiming how Suna is an amazing person and the best friend a guy could have. While Suna, in all his Light Yagami-esque beauty, seems aloof and rather cold, it becomes very clear very quickly that he cares as deeply for Takeo as Takeo cares for him.

Meanwhile, on another show Yamamoto could be little more than a squirming moë caricature, a prize to be won or a blank slate for our hero’s ideals to be projected upon. Instead, she has a sweet, effusive, excitable personality that’s a great match for Takeo’s aggressive sincerity and kindness. The moment in episode 2 when she tries with all her might to help Takeo hold up a construction beam that almost crushed her seconds ago is an absolutely winning moment in terms of endearing her to the audience. Her arms shake as she puffs out, “I’m actually quite strong!” It’s adorable, and she’s not, but it took character and courage to come back. And of course, Suna came back to help, too.

The show is really, really funny, at no one’s expense.

Takeo, Suna, and Yamato look like they come from three different shows. Takeo’s drawn with big bold lines that emphasize his hugeness and what most girls clearly consider his ugliness. Suna’s drawn with a delicate and precise beauty that wouldn’t be out of place in a reverse harem anime, while Yamamoto’s shimmering eyes and gently flowing hair are pulled straight out of the classic shojo playbook. Visually speaking, just having the three of them in a scene together is hilarious. And the show does a lot of genuinely funny visual gags, like the one that had Takeo pulling a Colossal Titan complete with steam.

On top of that, Takeo’s egregious earnestness is the source of a lot of humor. In his head as often as in real life, his monologues are earth-shaking with passion, and he has an issue with getting real up close and personal when he’s talking to someone. Just as often, though, a moment’s humor comes from Suna revealing himself as not exactly cold and aloof, but just kind of lazy and unmotivated: for example, he doesn’t have a girlfriend because thinking of dating makes him tired. (Fair enough, fella.)

Likewise, the flashbacks to Takeo and Suna’s childhood are really, really cute and funny. Seeing little Takeo and Suna in their kindergarten play is sweet, especially interspersed with Takeo’s passionate weeping over something Suna barely remembers. When Takeo tries to impress on Yamato what a great guy Suna is, he doesn’t hesitate to share stories that show him in the worst possible light: peeing himself, losing things… And Suna laughs and smiles only rarely, sometimes at Takeo but always out of fondness, never out of cruelty.

What would be an tiresome love triangle in another show is instead an awesome love triangle in this one.

By awesome love triangle, I mean that My Love Story!! completely subverts what one would expect of a shoujo romance anime. My Love Story!! doesn’t consist of endless episodes full of contrived misunderstandings that a baby rat would be able to see through. It doesn’t subject its viewers to interesting and endearing characters only to destroy them by entangling them in lusty machinations. The couple gets together in episode 3, thank you God and Suna. Yes, My Love Story!! has its share of overdramatic contrivances to be sure, such as the fires and falling construction beams and train perverts that conveniently enable Takeo to demonstrate his heroic nature.

But what would be tricky and tedious in another show is nipped in the bud by episode 3 of My Love Story!!. Instead of a love triangle that assassinates the character of everyone involved, we have a love triangle where each party is supportive of the other. Yamato goes to Suna more than once to ask for help on the best way to approach Takeo. Takeo and Suna’s friendship is such a solid and sure thing that it grounds the whole anime, helping us see the best in both of their characters. Suna rejects all the girls who ask him out because they talk smack behind Takeo’s back, and Suna won’t have it. Takeo, meanwhile, can barely see Suna without gushing about how incredible Suna’s acts of friendship are, to which Suna sensibly responds that acts of friendship are normal things. And Takeo and Yamato make a great couple: she bakes, he eats, he enthuses, she enthuses, and so on. They are both incredible dorks, and it’s a great match.

In sum, should you watch My Love Story!!

Absolutely without a shadow of a doubt YES. I have no hesitation in recommending My Love Story!!. It’s one of the freshest, funniest, most creative anime on offer this season. You can watch it streaming on Crunchyroll every Wenesday at 3:00 PM here.